an assurance of his
forgiveness of us and of our reconciliation with him. We thus
enter upon the experience of that true life which is "joy and
peace in believing," and which remains indestructible through all
the vanishing vagrancy of sin, misery, and the world. "This is
eternal life, that they might know thee, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent:" that is, imperishable life is
to be obtained by union with God in faith and love, through a
hearty acceptance of the instructions of Christ.

The two points thus far considered are, first, that the sinful,
unbelieving, wretched man abides in virtual death, while the
righteous, happy believer in the gospel has the experience of
genuine life; and, secondly, that these essential elements of
human character and experience survive all events of time and
place in everlasting continuance.

The next consideration prominent in the Christian doctrine of
death and life is the distinction continually made between the
body and the soul. Man is regarded under a twofold aspect, as
flesh and spirit, the one a temporal accompaniment and dependent
medium, the other an immortal being in itself. The distinction is
a fundamental one, and runs through nearly all philosophy and
religion in their reference to man. In the Christian Scriptures it
is not sharply drawn, with logical precision, nor always
accurately maintained, but is loosely defined, with waving
outlines, is often employed carelessly, and sometimes, if strictly
taken, inconsistently. Let us first note a few examples of the
distinction itself in the instructions of the Savior and of the
different New Testament writers.

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born
of the spirit is spirit." "Fear not them which kill the body but
are not able to kill the soul." "Though our outward man perish,
yet the inward man is renewed." "He that soweth to his flesh shall
reap corruption; he that soweth to the spirit shall reap life
everlasting." "Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened in
the spirit." "Knowing that I must shortly put off this
tabernacle." "The body without the spirit is dead." It would be
useless to accumulate examples. It is plain that these authors
distinguish the body and the soul as two things conjoined for a
season, the latter of which will continue to live when the other
has mixed with the dust. The facts and phenomena of our being from
which this distinction springs are so n